Earth Day celebrated at Garrison Elementary

DOVER — Students of Garrison Elementary School ditched traditional classes on Friday to get their hands dirty celebrating Earth Day, cleaning school grounds and taking part in a number of outdoor activities.

Before heading outside to rake, plant, and build around the property, a schoolwide concert with Wayne From Maine kicked off the day in the cafeteria.

With a large number of parent volunteers and members of the University of New Hampshire marine docent Day at the Coast program, music and art projects came to life with students at the school as well.

Once outdoors, it was a matter of minutes before she had gardening gloves on her hands.

“This is actually my favorite part,” she said of being outside.

She said at her home she’s working on creating a Native American tepee.

“I love finding all the cool little things in nature,” she said.

Teaching the students stewardship toward the earth is something he said is really special about the day.

Norm Fracassa, owner of Fracassa Designworks and parent of two Garrison School students, has been working on the creation of a fitness trail on the playground consisting of eight locations on the grounds set up with different fitness equipment that can be used by children and adults when completed.

He said the paths will be eight feet wide and three-tenths of a mile in length with equipment such as parallel bars and other devices for exercise.

The fitness trail will be open to the entire community.

“This park gets a ton of use in the city because it’s a city park,” he said.

His company also oversaw construction of the Park Street Park.

“I think this school is on the forefront of promoting a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating,” he said.

Constructing the trail on Earth Day means the student were able to be a part of its creation and see the work as it progresses.

When he was approached by the school to help with the project, he said he just wanted to help make the school’s vision a reality.

So far, the entire project has been made possible through donations and a fundraising effort to reach its completion.

With warm temperatures in the city on Friday, it was a perfect day for everyone to enjoy.

“It’s fun because you get to clean up the earth,” Dominic Ciccotelli, 10, said.

“We get to come outside and work and plant trees,” Ethan Everngam, 9, said.

Learning how to work with the earth and ground early in life — and be out of the classroom — was the overall highlight of the day.

“The best part is doing all the environmental things,” Bella Britton, 10, said. She thought the entire day was great for children like her to enjoy.

“It’s really nice to have a green thumb, sometimes to get dirty and know you can make a change,” she said.